J L Allen1, L A Abraham, K Thompson, G F Browning. 1. Asia-Pacific Centre for Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Science, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3010, Australia. jlallen@unimelb.edu.au
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the spread of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolated from a cluster of clinical cases at a veterinary hospital by molecular epidemiological techniques. METHODS: Antimicrobial susceptibility testing, spa typing, multilocus sequence typing and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis were used to compare 16 isolates of MRSA. Four isolates were cultured from clinical cases thought to be involved in the cluster. A single isolate that was unrelated to the cluster and the remaining 10 isolates were obtained from nasal swabs submitted by staff and students during a subsequent survey of MRSA carriage. RESULTS: Isolates from four clinical cases and an isolate obtained from a staff member were the same strain of MRSA. Some key risk factors associated with transmission of MRSA within veterinary hospitals were identified. CONCLUSION: The information provided by these techniques was invaluable in developing procedures and identifying risk factors to help reduce the effect of future outbreaks within veterinary hospitals.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the spread of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolated from a cluster of clinical cases at a veterinary hospital by molecular epidemiological techniques. METHODS: Antimicrobial susceptibility testing, spa typing, multilocus sequence typing and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis were used to compare 16 isolates of MRSA. Four isolates were cultured from clinical cases thought to be involved in the cluster. A single isolate that was unrelated to the cluster and the remaining 10 isolates were obtained from nasal swabs submitted by staff and students during a subsequent survey of MRSA carriage. RESULTS: Isolates from four clinical cases and an isolate obtained from a staff member were the same strain of MRSA. Some key risk factors associated with transmission of MRSA within veterinary hospitals were identified. CONCLUSION: The information provided by these techniques was invaluable in developing procedures and identifying risk factors to help reduce the effect of future outbreaks within veterinary hospitals.
Authors: Mitchell D Groves; Bethany Crouch; Geoffrey W Coombs; David Jordan; Stanley Pang; Mary D Barton; Phil Giffard; Sam Abraham; Darren J Trott Journal: PLoS One Date: 2016-01-06 Impact factor: 3.240